Daily Life With Monster Daughters
by The Immortal Doctor Reid
Summary: Let's take a look into to the future of the Kurusu Clan and find out the joys and hardships of raising seven very unique daughters from seven very different mothers! They'll laugh, they'll cry, they'll end up with severe bone fractures! (Well, mostly just Kurusu...) So come inside and get some tips on parenting from Japan's very own Father of Seven and Husband of Seven!
1. A Typical Saturday Morning

Kimihito Kurusu grumbled softly as he was woken up by his alarm clock.

His upper lip twitched at the brain-piercing irritation and when he reached out to switch the alarm off, he noticed something extremely odd.

He could actually reach out to turn it off?

Where was the slightly cool scaled tail lovingly coiled around him?

Where was the warm, furry flank packed with natural strength that should pressed against him protectively?

Where was soft, warm wings holding him gently in a hug that few could hope to match?

Why wasn't he waking up to discover the was enveloped in a gooey embrace, his whole body being massaged?

Why wasn't he waking up to discover that he was still attached to the wall after Rachnera had her wicked way with his body the night before?

Where was the wonderfully plump slippery chest that should be smooshed against his?

Why weren't Lala's thick thighs and buttocks being currently pinched his roaming hands?

Opening his eyes with dread, he peered at the alarm clock and he confirmed his worst fear.

It was Saturday. His all of his wives except Suu worked on Saturday. He had a day off on Saturday.

Well, that sucked.

Indeed, times had changed since the advent of the Cultural Exchange Between Species Act.

After dating for three years, Kimihito had married Miia, Papi, Centorea, Suu, Mero, Rachnera, and Lala in the traditional Lamia and Harpy fashion, that is to say, a large wedding with multiple wives and one lucky groom.

Miia, Papi, Centorea, Mero, Lala, and himself were twenty at the time. Rachnera was twenty-two, and Suu was... difficult to figure out.

When the wedding was done, Miia, Papi, Centorea, Mero, Rachnera, and Lala had become official dual citizens of both Japan and their own countries.

And with the rights and privileges that came with being a citizen of Japan, it also meant that the government no longer need to provide the Kurusu family with monetary aid that they provided to Extraspecies exchange students.

After the wedding, Kurusu had worked towards a long-time ambition of owning his own restaurant. And now, after years of preparation, saving, increasing his cooking skills and more than a little start-up capital from his beloved wife, Mero, Kurusu was now the proud owner of the Kurusu Cafe, a family restaurant that catered to all species and dietary needs.

And Kurusu was happy to say that he was the head chef of his own restaurant.

Miia also worked at the restaurant as the head waitress, beloved by all it's employees and customers. You would imagine that Miia's body would make it difficult to make her way around such a busy environment, but Kurusu had never seen Miia so at ease than when she was taking orders, ferrying food and generally making sure that everyone else was able to do their jobs well.

Rachnera managed the restaurant in it's daily goings on and Kurusu was positive that without her shrewd mind for business, the whole thing would've flopped within a week. She also ran a side business, selling hand-woven Arachne-silk clothes over the internet.

Papi became a courier. Even though that was a seemingly bad idea, Papi joined forces with several other Harpies to form a well-oiled team of delivery-women who worked all over the city. They did surprisingly well, except for the odd concussion that some customers suffered from having a package dropped on their heads from the sky.

Centorea had found her calling in teaching kendo and despite her initial... Misgivings about her students not taking it seriously, she had inspired all her students to dedicate themselves to the art. Many of her students had gone on to do very well in tournaments even though they had only a couple of years training.

But that was the power of a true Trainer of Heroes, she would proudly declare.

Mero, feeling slightly homesick, had started to volunteer at the aquarium more and more until she graciously accepted a job performing in their daily shows. People would come from miles around to see a genuine Mermaid perform in a spectacular aquatic display.

And Lala worked at the hospital in the children's ward and with terminal patients, lending an ear and providing comfort to the sick and dying. It turns out that people were much more comfortable with death when it was explained to them by an actual Messenger of Death.

Suu didn't work, she stayed at home as a housewife, maintaining the Kurusu home with her amazing housekeeping skills and doing the most of the child raising.

That's right, with marriage comes children and Kimihito Kurusu was also the proud father of seven beautiful daughters.

Perhaps a little backstory was in order.

You see, a Slime gives birth in a rather unusual way.

Suu absorbed his saliva, sweat and err, other bodily fluids, over the course of three years. Then, not long after the wedding, she was unable to control her body for a full week. She was forced to remain in the bathtub while the rest of the family frantically fretted about her well-being.

After seven days, Suu was able to reassert control over her body's shape and when she got out of the bath... She held a tiny, tiny version of herself in her arms, complete with a little green antenna and big emerald eyes.

The first time that little antenna reached out and wrapped around his finger, Kurusu wasn't ashamed to admit that he cried. This was his daughter, his dear little newborn baby girl, after all.

The little Slime had been called Suu-two for a while until the name Nii had been settled on, naturally it was Papi who decided on it.

Not long after Nii had been born, Centorea and Miia had become pregnant within a month of each other.

But due to the difference between Lamia and Centaur biology, even though Centorea had gotten pregnant a month before Miia, after a twelve month pregnancy she gave birth to her daughter Victoria nearly six months after Miia had given birth to Misa, after a five month pregnancy.

Papi had laid an egg two months later, and after another two months that egg hatched into his daughter Aoko.

Then Mero, Rachnera and Lala began to feel broody and got pregnant not long after that. Rachnera's pregnancy was the shortest and lasted five months, she then laid an egg that hatched after another two, and so, his daughter Emilia was born.

Then Mero and Lala had given birth after a nine month long pregnancy, which resulted in his daughters Nerida, Mero's daughter and Morrigan, Lala's daughter.

So currently, Nii was seven. Misa, Victoria and Aoko were six. And Emilia, Nerida and Morrigan were five.

And now at the age of twenty-seven, he was now obliged to remember fourteen different birthdays.

God help him.

Kurusu slapped himself in the face to force life into himself. Suu was going to need help with breakfast, the girls would need help getting dressed...

As he was getting ready to throw the covers off himself, there was a soft knocking on the bedroom door and a tired cry of "Papaaaa!"

"Come in, Misa." He replied and settled back down. If it was Misa, he probably wouldn't be able to use his legs for a while.

The little Lamia slithered into the room while rubbing her fist against her half closed eye, still wearing her pink, specially altered pyjamas. "Papaaaa! I'm coooold!" Misa whined as she wound her little red tail around his leg and settled her head on his stomach. "Ahh! Warm, warm, warm~! Papa is sooo warm~!" She sighed in content, snuggling against him fiercely.

Misa was the spitting image of her mother, only with shorter, shoulder-length hair a few shades darker than Miia's. She was a sweet little thing, her face always set in a cute pout or a toothy smile.

Kurusu smiled and patted her on the head. "Don't you sleep in the same bed as Victoria? Wouldn't she be a lot warmer than me?"

Kurusu loved all his daughters equally, don't get him wrong, but it was nice to have three daughters whose names he didn't occasionally forget how to pronounce.

"Victoria is too hot!" Misa declared with puffed-out cheeks. "Nii is too goopy! Nerida is too slippery to cuddle with! Emilia is too smooth to cuddle! Aoko always gets her feathers in my mouth! And Morrigan talks in her sleep! But Papa is just right to cuddle with~!" She concluded cheerfully. "I was cold all night, so I should get lots and lots of cuddle time, okay Papa?"

"Lies! All lies, Father! Misa was cuddled up to the space heater all night!" His third daughter, Victoria announced. She strutted into the room with one hand on her hip, the other waving a wooden short sword above her head, her ears stiff with indignity and pronounced frown on her face.

The upset look was offset by the fact that she hadn't taken the time to change out of her carrot decorated nightclothes.

To be honest, the only difference between Cerea and Victoria was their height. Victoria wore her hair the exact same way Cerea did, in a ponytail but like with Misa, Victoria's hair was a bit more of a flaxen blonde opposed to Cerea's yellow blonde hair. Victoria had also inherited her mother's sense of fairness and skills with the sword.

Cerea had insisted on training her in the traditional Centaur way when she was ready. That is to say, when she was able to grip something with her chubby infant fist.

She was also strong for her age, being a Centaur and all, given that she was carrying tiny, pink-haired mermaid on her back. "Nee-sama!" The poor creature shivered with fright from the sudden gallop from her older sister. "Mother Suu says no running in the house... Fwaaah! So dizzy..."

Nerida was a cheerful child, a lover of Disney films and happy endings. In other words, "A complete failure of a Mermaid!" Her mother, Mero would happily declare whenever her dear child cheered at a villain's downfall and a hero's victory.

That might be a strange thing to say, but Mero meant it as nothing but a compliment, happy that her daughter would never lead herself to heartbreak and ruin by pursuing tragedy.

No, Mero was delighted that Nerida was not surrounded by a people that sought a Bad End as a rule. Instead she had a loving family that would support her in reaching her future goals.

Even if it meant that Mero was disowned by her mother and that she and her daughter would never sit upon the throne of their own kingdom! Cast out to the cruel world above! To live the life of a commoner! A harsh day-to-day existence ended only by the sweet embrace of oblivion!

Well, you can take the girl out of Atlantis, but you can't take Atlantis out of the girl...

"Ah! I am so sorry, little sister! Q-Quickly, cuddle with Father! Father's hugs cure all bad feelings and pain! Even Mother Rachnera says so!"

Walking slowly to the side of the bed, Victoria deposited her younger sister in her father's welcoming arms. Nerida sighed happily and snuggled up. "Otou-sama's hugs really are the best! Hmm, sleepy, sleepy..." She quickly fell back asleep despite Misa's intense pout at having her Papa Time cut into.

Victoria fidgeted at the bedside, kicking her hooves back and forth and poking her fingers together uneasily, clearly failing to give the appearance of a mature young lady who definitely didn't want a cuddle too.

Kurusu reached out to pat her on the head. "Do you want to get on the bed too, Victoria?" He laughed under his breath when her face turned red and she began to splutter denials. Like mother, like daughter...

"No! No, I do not! It is just that... Misa and Nerida are cuddling with you, and Father is my Father too!" She huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms.

"Come here you!" Victoria let out a squeak of surprise when Kurusu lifted her onto the bed with no small amount effort. She did have the lower body of a horse after all...

"F-Father is so strong! But I will surpass you and Mother one day! You will see!" She declared, the good old "Centaur Pride" in her voice.

Kurusu tried not to smile and just patted her on the head again. "I know you will." Probably by the time she was ten, he admitted to himself.

Victory squealed in joy at the remark, hearted by her Father's faith in her. Then she buried her face into the blanket in embarrassment.

Yep, definitely Cerea's girl.

While Kurusu was internally gushing over his daughter's cuteness, he heard the telltale sound of watery slaps on hardwood floor and high-pitched ramblings that signalled that his eldest daughter and fourth born daughter were coming.

"Aaaand then there were lots and lots of hamsters, but I was their queen! Aaaand they could fly but they didn't have wings! Aaaand then we all flew home together!" Aoko, his little blue hurricane, explained her dream in excruciating detail to her ever patient eldest sister, Nii, who merely smiled and nodded along while guiding her to the bedroom.

Such a good big sister!

Aoko was Papi, if looked at through the wrong end of a telescope. She was cheerful, playful, a joy to be around and always gave her all to whatever she was doing... Provided she remembered what it was she was doing.

Aoko's mind tended to wander at the worst times, like when she was getting dressed... Or breathing...

But the major difference Aoko and her mother was that Aoko had a large pair of brown eyes that she had inherited from him.

With Misa, Victoria and the others, their resemblance to their mothers was uncanny due to the dominant Extraspecies DNA in their genes, but Aoko's Harpy genes cut him just enough slack to allow his own eye colour to shine through. It made him oddly proud.

"Aaaand then I gave everyone a pet flying hamster! Aaaand Daddy's hamster was blue! Aaaand Viki's was red, like Mama Centorea's ribbon! Aaaand Neri's was red, but it had polkadots! Aaaand Emi's was green! Aaand Mama Lala's was black! Aaaand- Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"

Aoko interrupted herself so she could make a very short flight onto his chest, instantly waking up Nerida for the second time that morning.

Nerida blinked and pouted at her cheerful big sister, knowing that she wouldn't get back to sleep. "Nee-sama is too peppy in the mornings..." She grumbled with no real negativity in her voice. She had gotten used to the quirks of all her sisters. Sooo many quirks...

"Good morning, Daddy!" Aoko greeted him with a sunny smile. "And I know you're really Daddy, because you're not a boat!"

"Good morning, Aoko." Kurusu returned her greeting and then turned to Nii. "Good morning, Nii."

Nii smiled lovingly and replied, "Good morning, Progenitor."

Yes, that was what she called him. And yes, that was her first word, too.

Was that a strange first word for a two month old child to utter? Yes.

But to Kurusu, it only proved that his little Nii had a lot of intelligence behind those green eyes, much like her mother.

Nii wasn't much different from Suu, considering that she was practically a clone of Suu with his DNA mixed in.

She could do almost anything Suu could do and could easily shift between shapes and size and often used her hair-tendrils to carry one or two of her sisters when they got too rowdy, but she preferred to stay in a form that was closest to a seven year old human girl.

And just like her mother and father, she excelled in housework and could suck up dirt and grime just by touching it.

She wore the old raincoat that Kurusu wore when he was a child, the same one he gave to Suu, who passed it to Nii.

Wordlessly, Nii climbed onto the bed and settled at the foot of the bed with Victoria, both of them curled up like cats.

When Aoko finished recounting the rest of her dream, Kurusu heard muttering from outside the room and spied a long thin black leg sticking out of the doorway. "Emilia~?" He called out teasingly. "Is that you?"

There was a long pause.

"N-no?"

"Yes, it is! Just come in!" Misa shouted out, now having resigned herself to having to share her Papa Time. Again! Why couldn't they see that Papa wanted to spend time with his favourite little princess?!

"Rats!" Little Emilia grunted as she walked into the room, her claw-covering mittens slapping her in the head. "And I was being sneaky, too!" She muttered. She wore a sullen expression, each of her six eyes narrowed.

Emilia was yet another chibi clone of her mother. Neck length lilac hair, three pairs of crimson eyes, black claws that needed to be covered up while she slept or else the poor girl might hurt herself by mistake.

She also had a tendency to try and tie Kurusu up at the most inconvenient times then laugh and leave him there to be found.

So she really took after her mother in that respect because she certainly didn't get that from his side of the family!

Emilia placed two of her legs and the bed and tried to drag herself up. "I can do it by myself!" She announced, using her arms to get a little bit of leverage.

After a few moments of struggling, she grinned proudly then she settled on Kurusu's chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled. "Good morning, Pops! ...And others." She added as an afterthought.

"Good morning, Emilia. Did you sleep well?" He asked, returning the kiss.

Then he gave one to each of his daughters within his reach when they gave him a look he thought he stopped seeing around ten years ago.

Such precious, scary little girls he had!

"'Spose..." Emila replied with a shrug. "When can I stop wearing these dumb things at night?" She asked, waving one of her mittens in his face. "So annoying!"

"You can stop wearing them when your mother and I think you're ready," He repeated the same response he gave around a million times since she was first forced to put them on. "We don't want you to hurt yourself by accident, or anyone else."

Emilia shook her head fiercely enough to make Aoko dizzy. "I'd never hurt you, Pops! Or the mommies!" She looked distraught, just like Papi when she learned that she couldn't take her little chicks home from that farm.

"Don't leave us out!"

"Not on purpose." Kurusu instantly reassured her. "I know you wouldn't do that. We just need you to wear them a little bit longer, just to be safe."

Emilia relented and gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, Pops. But I'll be allowed to take them off when I'm a big girl, okay?"

Kurusu nodded, accepting the "compromise". "Okay, Emilia."

Hmm, surrounded by six little monster-girls... Now just where was-?

Ah, there she was! He could always hear her soft little footsteps walking down the hall. "Honoured Patriarch!" His youngest girl's voice sounded from outside the room, the grandiose words sounding comical coming from her high-pitched voice. "I am on a quest to find my siblings, for the new episode of Transforming Magical Girl Luz-tan is about to-!?"

The little blue-skinned girl froze at the doorway and just STARED.

Then, in a voice that could not be heard by mortal ears, in a language that had not been spoken since before the light of the stars graced the stark emptiness of the universe, she shrieked.

Creatures of the air fell from the skies.

Plants shrivelled and died in lands that would soon be barren.

And in the Nowhere between Time, Space and Sanity, a being beyond scale and scope of Concept, raised it's eight-trillion eyes...

AND. IT. SPOKE. BACK.

Kurusu managed to make out what Morrigan was squealing before she pounced on the bed and grabbed onto his shirt with the grip on an Ogre.

"Don't-leave-me-out-everyone! I-wanna-cuddle-with-everyone-too! Wawawawa!" Morrigan howled.

Morrigan was quickly swept up in a loving hug by Aoko, who comforted her youngest sister. "Don't cry, Morri! We can all cuddle with Daddy!"

Morrigan sniffed and wiped her eyes on her pyjama sleeve. "Presp-! Prepotes-! Per-!" She stuttered, her lower lip still wobbling. "That's silly! I was not crying!"

Following the pattern set by her older sisters, Morrigan was another little Lala, right down to the purple pyjamas with decorated with little smiley faces. She had the same blue skin, the same overly formal, grand-sounding way of speaking, the same long white hair, and even the same massive cow-lick that stuck out like the blade of a scythe.

But unlike Lala who learned to keep her Chuunibyou tendencies to either the bedroom (Oh, yeah!) or to other private settings, Morrigan, even at the age of five was out and out the dorkiest kid he ever met.

And he was counting himself, Night Emperor Shadow Blade!

"I merely wished... To pay tribute to the Honoured Patriarch, because he works so hard with all the of our honoured mothers!"

Kurusu let out a wistful sigh. He was truly blessed to have so many innately adorable daughters but they were kind of literally suffocating him at this point.

Misa was still wrapped around his left leg, Victoria and Nii were crushing his right leg. Aoko and Morrigan were cuddled into his left side while Nerida had his right side and Emilia had taken residence on his chest.

He couldn't feel his limbs...

"Right, girls! Go watch your show, then go get dressed, okay?"

As one, each of his seven daughters let out a despondent sigh that almost made him wrapped them all back up into a massive hug. Almost.

Remember, he couldn't move his limbs at all.

"Okay, Progenitor/Papa/Father/Daddy/Pops/Otou-sama/Honoured Patriarch!"

With some effort and an accidental kick to the face, the girls left the room and Kurusu got back some of that sweet, sweet blood flow!

...Then he heard a click, a squelch, and a sigh. "Master~?"

And a with just the tiniest sense of trepidation, he opened his eyes to a glorious sight.

Ever since Nii had been born, Suu had made sure that she had enough liquid to maintain her more developed form and eventually began to use salt-water, which changed her normal body from developed, to Developed.

The capital D was completely necessary.

Thick, jiggling thighs and ass, a waist that led into wide, motherly hips and a pair of breasts that were nearly on par with Cerea and just surpassing Rachnera, added to the look on her face that told him that he wasn't going to be able to move for the foreseen future and that he would enjoy every second of it? Suu was without a doubt a beautiful, charming Grade-A Milf.

Oh yes, the large D was absolutely necessary.

Any other day and Suu would already be all over him. But he was a family man, so the first words out of his mouth weren't "Take me now!"

But rather, "The girls?"

Suu smiled and climbed onto the bed, slowly and sensually mounting his waist. "Already in front of the television and occupied for the next thirty minutes at least, Master."

Kurusu gave her a cocky smirk then gripped her waist and pulled her soft, cool body close to his. "Only thirty minutes?"

Suu kissed him soundly and dissolved her lower half, enveloping his legs in blue. "You won't last three." She held a hand over his mouth, making sure she didn't cover his nose.

She smiled wickedly, her eyes glittered sinfully, and then began to-

DLWMD

Hey! Hang on there!

This is a cute little slice-of-life story about the daily shenanigans of Mini-Monster Girls!

So let's leave the adults to their "wrestling" and see what the Kurusu kids are doing!

DLWMD

The seven sisters of the Kurusu Clan sat either on the couch or the floor depending on their shapes.

Nii flicked through the channels to find Transforming Magical Girl Luz-tan, their favourite Saturday morning show.

Mother Miia had even once mentioned that she, Mother Rachnera and Progenitor had met the actual Luz-tan when they were younger! So amazing!

The theme song had only started when a very strange, but familiar sound came from Progenitor's bedroom. The sisters looked uneasily between themselves.

"Turn it all the way up." Misa whispered, wrapping her tail over her ears.

Nii nodded and pressed the volume button - Hard.

"Another fierce battle. Father's fighting ability is truly scary!" Victoria whimpered. Could she really surpass her parents if her human father could do battle with her mothers every night - sometimes two at once!

Yes! She could! She must! She had to become strong enough to protect her siblings and Father, instead of the other way around!

Aoka and the rest didn't seem affected, except that they was singing the Luz-tan theme song at three times the necessary volume.

It wasn't an unusual occurrence for them, sadly.

Soon a half hour passed, Octopus Empress was defeated by Luz-tan and a haggard but happy Kurusu and a radiant Suu left the bedroom to start on breakfast.

Toast was buttered, orange juice was poured and the various virtues of different cereals discussed.

The discussions quickly shifted to arguments but both parents knew that sort of thing was to be expected.

Kurusu took a moment to sit back and simply enjoy the chaos.

He had come a long way from the lonely teenager he had once been.

A father of seven daughters, a husband of seven wives...

His life was unpredictable and often more than a little dangerous. But there wasn't a single thing he would change...

"Good morning, you darling children!"

"Morning, brats!"

"Aunt Tio! Aunt Zombina!"

...Well, maybe a couple of things he'd change...

But the happy smiles on each of his daughter's faces would never be one of them.


	2. Aoko's Cupcake Confusion

Aoko Kurusu, the fourth daughter of the Kurusu family, hovered over her alarm clock.

With her wing above it and ready to spring into action, she waited for it to go off, prepared to shut it down before it could make a sound. The second the display turned to 7:30AM, she pounced, not allowing a single annoying beep to be made.

Satisfied, she quietly dressed herself and tried her best to awkwardly tiptoe from the bedroom she shared with her younger sister, Emilia. Luckily, Emi was a heavy sleeper much like their Mama Rachnera and Mama Papi.

The thirteen-year-old Harpy moved like a feathery ghost through her large family house. She had heard from her Daddy that soon after Nii was born, Aunt Smith was nice enough to build them a whole new house for her Daddy and Mamas and big sister, as well as the sisters that hadn't been born yet.

Before the new house had been built, her Daddy and Mamas lived in her Daddy's parents house, who Aoko hadn't seen a while... One was definitely a woman though... Right?

But they definitely had four tails! No four legs! No... That wasn't right... Mama Centorea's mama was a Centaur, so she had four legs, but her daddy was a human like Aoko's Daddy... So that meant six legs?

No! Four legs all together! And that narrowed it down to humans or Dullahans or Harpies! But hold on... Daddy was a human, wasn't he? So Daddy's parents were humans! But her Daddy was a human and Aoko was a Harpy...

Grrr...

Aoko, in a sudden bout of clarity, finally understood why her sensei never made her, Victoria and Misa make a family tree like the other kids.

But she wasn't supposed to be thinking of gardening! Aoko was on a mission! She had to get to the kitchen!

...So why was she standing near the stairs that led to the attic?

Muuuu... She got lost in thought again, didn't she? Misa was right, one day she'd get lost in her head and end up on the moon!

With new-found determination and focus, Aoko began to chant the word "Kitchen!" In her head like a mantra. Eventually she ended up in a large room with a sink that wasn't a bathroom, where she found had herself on her second attempt.

Aoko grabbed a small step and placed it at the counter, using her small boost in height to grab a recipe book, thumbing, if you could call it that, through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

Yummy, yummy cupcakes! Simple, delicious and almost no chance of food poisoning or accidental arson! It was too perfect!

Aoko thoroughly examined the steps and ingredients involved. This wasn't something she was willing to mess up, you see. No, this was very important!

Pre-heat the oven!

Prepare the muffin tray!

Grab the eggs, milk and flour!

Aoko painstakingly measured out the perfect amount of what she needed, mixing, pouring and adding a little bit of vanilla extract to the cake mix.

Then with bated breath, she prepared to transfer the mix into the muffin tray's little cake holder thingies! She could almost smell them already!

"You forgot the paper holders."

Aoko whipped around to face the source of the voice with a yelp, almost knocking every thing off of the kitchen counter with her wings. "Viki-chan, Neri-chan, Morri-chan! Good morning!" She greeted her older sister and younger sisters cheerfully.

Nerida was being pushed along in her wheelchair by Victoria, as per the usual, with Morrigan walking behind them.

"Sister, you are up surprisingly early." Victoria noted with a hint of curiosity in her voice. "And baking also. This is unusual."

"Huh-huh!" Aoko nodded, now looking through the cupboards for the missing cupcake holders. Ah! Found them! "What're you doing up this early? Going for a run?"

"Eh... Yes! That's what I'm doing! I was just bringing Morrigan and Nerida to the living room! " Victoria answered quickly, using less formal language in her flustered state.

"Oh? Aren't you watching that romance drama we recorded last night with us?" Nerida asked, placing a hand to her cheek. "But it's the finale! Morimoto-kun was just about to propose to his beloved Haruka-chan! How can you miss it? Weren't you saying that you wanted to watch it for ideas on ho-MMPH?!"

"Ha-ha!" Victoria laughed awkwardly, covering Nerida's mouth with her hand. "That was a dream! I am a warrior in training, such things are unimportant to me! H-However, I am willing to watch it as a sisterly bonding exercise!"

Morrigan walked past the two and stood next to her blue-haired sister. "Why are you baking cupcakes?" She asked softly, still blinking back a bit of tiredness. "That isn't a very healthy breakfast."

Aoko clipped the back of Morrigan's head with her wing. "Silly Morri-chan! These aren't for me, they're for someone else!"

"Someone else?" The gears in Morrigan's twelve-year-old mind began to turn, fuelled by the anticipating of watching the love story of Haruka and Morimoto. "...A boy?" She whispered, her eyes growing wide.

"Yep!" Aoko confirmed, obliviously putting the tray into the oven.

Behind her, Nerida's muffled protests grow silent even as Victoria's hand fell from her mouth.

"Wha-What?" Victoria stuttered. This could not be! Aoko had a boyfriend? And she was baking for him?! How intimate! This was impossible!

Nerida squealed, a myriad of situations running through her romantically-inclined mind. "Do we know him? Does he go to our school? Is he younger or older? Is he cute? He is, isn't he?"

Aoko blinked at the sudden influx of question. "Uh... Yeah, you know him. You see him all the time at school. He's older than I am. And if he's cute... It's not something I really think about... A lot of girls think so, I guess."

"A "Notice Me, Sempai" situation?!" Nerida gushed.

"Aha!" Victoria shouted, pointing an accusing finger to the sky. "A scoundrel! An enemy of women! Can't you see he's playing with you?! You must stop seeing this fiend immediately!" She roared, shaking Aoko by the shoulders.

"Wha- Why?"

"It's because Onee-sama and Fuj-" Nerida was interrupted once more by her sister's hand over her mouth.

"That's nothing to do with it!" Victoria whined. "I'm not concerned with that sort of thing!"

Morrigan tugged gently on her sister's wing, wanting to get information on this mysterious cupcake recipient. "What's he like?"

Aoko paused, collecting her thoughts after Victoria's shaking. "Hmm... He's super nice." She eventually nodded, raising her wingtip to her chin. "And always helping everybody, too. He's always surrounded by girls, so I guess he's super popular too."

"Womaniser!" Victoria shouted out again. How dare this dog of a man try to trick her little sister! Sweet, innocent Aoko certainly didn't need a boyfriend! Especially when her older sisters didn't have one! There was an order to these things!

This person obviously played around with other girls, so he should just leave Aoko alone! Scum!

She knew that way of thinking was slightly hypocritical, considering the structure of her own family. But then again, Father was Father and he was just better than every other man.

Aoko shook her head firmly, sending glare, an honest glare at her older sister. "He's not like that. Even though he's got lots of girls around him all the time, he always makes sure to have time for me! He even has a nick-name for me! He calls me brown-eyes." She giggled.

"Aww." Nerida and Morrigan chimed in unison.

"Brown-eyes?" Victoria muttered to herself. "Who have I heard say that before?" She ran through any possible options, but no obvious suspects leapt out at her. There was certainly no-one at their middle school that could be called a playboy by any sense of the word. Hmmph. He probably only called her that because he couldn't bother to recall her name.

"Why's Victoria shouting like an idiot? Are we having cupcakes for breakfast now?" Young Emilia asked as she stumbled into the kitchen.

She blinked all six of her eyes and observed the swooning Morrigan and Nerida. That wasn't too unusual, but the muttering Victoria and patiently waiting Aoko was a bit odd. "What's going on here?"

"Nee-sama is baking for a boy!" Nerida giddily informed her sister, holding her sides to keep her gleeful emotions in.

She could see it now! The cute young maiden, Aoko, struck by the arrow of first love! An older boy, home-baked treats, a heartfelt declaration of admiration and love!

It was... It was... It was JUST TOO ROMANTIC!

"Is... Is she alright? Are her gills covered up?" Morrigan asked, watching her slightly older sister hyper-ventilate.

"She is perfectly alright." Victoria assured her. "The same thing happened when Mother Mero insisted that I watch Wuthering Heights with her. Father says that it is simply a Mermaid thing."

"Baking for a boy?" Emilia repeated scornfully. "That's dumb. Let's just eat these and buy some later."

"I can't do that! I had to get up early to bake these before he wakes up!"

Again, silence reigned through the kitchen.

Victoria quickly broke it. "W-What?!"

Followed by Morrigan. "But- But- A boy's in the house?!"

Then Emilia. "There's some weirdo in our room?!"

And finally, Nerida. "O-Onee-sama, isn't something like that a little too romantic?!"

"Obviously he's in the house. Where else would he sleep?" Aoko asked, crouching down to check on the cupcakes.

The shouting and squabbling continued for several minutes, all while Aoko sat on a chair and kicked her legs back and forth in boredom, until the man of the house himself walked in on it.

"Isn't cupcakes for breakfast a little unhealthy?" Kimihito Kurusu asked Aoko over the cacophony of noise, scratching at his chin.

"Daddy!" Aoko cheered, wrapping her wings around his waist. "Happy birthday!"

Kurusu chuckled and embraced her back. "Thanks, brown-eyes. Were you baking these for me?"

"Yep! And Morri-chan, Neri-chan, and Viki-chan helped!" Aoko exclaimed, gesturing to the still flustered sisters who hadn't noticed their father's entrance.

Kurusu glanced over to them and smiled to himself. "Did they now?"

"Yeah, it's super boring watching them bake, but the others always make stuff fun!"

"The cupcakes are for the Honoured Patriarch?" Morrigan questioned. Wait...

They knew him, obviously, they saw him at school all the time, because he was the one who dropped them of and picked them up, and of course he was older than them.

And naturally, the Honoured Patriarch was surrounded by women!

Ugh... Aoko-neesan, please choose your words carefully! This was just like chapter 29 of Black Blossom Hearts, just without the murderous maid!

"What? For Father? Aoko doesn't have a boyfriend?!" Victoria shouted.

"For Otou-sama? It's your birthday?!" Nerida exclaimed.

"Happy birthday, Pops! Can we eat the cupcakes now?"

"Boyfriend? Aoko, what are they talking about?" Kurusu asked.

"Eh? Boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend?" Aoko looked up at Kurusu, placing her chin on his stomach and smiled widely "I got Daddy after all!"

"F-Father's birthday?! Yes, I knew that! Which is why... I'm going to wake up Misa to get our present for you, Father!" Victoria fled to her shared bedroom, galloping like a branded foal.

"Wait! Onee-sama, don't leave me behind! I need to get my present for Otou-sama, which I certainly have!" Nerida frantically tried to wheel herself away until Emilia grabbed the handles of her wheelchair and pushed her along.

"Sorry Pops, I kinda forgot... But I'll fix that!" Emilia promised.

"I... I forgot..." Morrigan whispered forlornly, eyes locked firmly on the floor. "I'm sorry, Honoured Patriarch, I failed you..."

Kurusu patted his youngest on the head, messing her bed-head up further. "It's okay, Morrigan. Want to help me make the frosting?"

Morrigan looked up to her father and almost knocked her head off with how quickly she nodded. "Yes, please!"

"Can you go get the sprinkles for me, please?"

Morrigan nodded again and ran to the other side of the kitchen to begin her search for the multicoloured toppings.

Kurusu knelt down to kiss Aoko on the top of her head. "Thanks Aoko, this means a lot. You're going to be a cook like your old man, huh?"

Aoko giggled and shook her head. "Nah, I'm never going to be as good as Daddy, but even I can do this much! Daddy... You're always cooking for us, even when you're not at work... So I thought since it's your birthday and I forgot the last one... And the one before... I just wanted to do something special for you, you know?"

Kurusu swept Aoko into another bone-crushing hug, holding her tightly like back when she was a little girl trying to take off into the wild sky for the first time. "I love you, Aoko." He spoke into her hair.

Aoko pulled back, smiled her mother's smile and kissed him on the nose. "Love you too, brown-eyes!"


	3. Morrigan's First Day

Morrigan Kurusu, the seventh scion of that most noble and influential household... was in a bind.

Nefarious forces were conspiring against her clan, terrible schemes set in place long before her birth, a dark plot to separate her family...

And her Honoured Patriarch was blind to the truth!

"But Honoured Patriarch! I don't want to go to school!" Morrigan whimpered from behind her father's leg. Her four eldest sisters had already left for their respective classrooms, cruelly abandoning her and Emilia-neesan and Nerida-neesan.

Now she was adrift in this sea of young children, desperately clinging to her only source of comfort.

Kurusu smiled and laid a comforting pat on his youngest girl's back. "It'll be okay, Morrigan, I promise! You'll go to school, have some fun, learn something new! There's nothing scary about it!"

Hmm, Emilia and Nerida weren't having this problem. No, Nerida was delighted to go to school and Emilia, the little tomboy, was looking at it as a grand adventure. He supposed it might have been something to do how she was treated by her mother and sisters. Even though she was only a a week younger than Nerida, Morrigan was always the little pet of the family and maybe a little bit spoiled.

"I-I won't know anyone..." Morrigan murmured into his pants leg.

"Dummy! You'll know us!" Emilia reminded her baby sister. Yep! Morrigan sure was a little kid! Imagine being scared of something like school! Nii-neechan had already gone to school for two whole years and nothing happened! She even said it was fun! Hey, if Aoko-nee could do it, it couldn't even be that hard!

"Yes, Otou-sama even made sure that we'll be in the same classroom, so we'll always be together!" Nerida placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Look, there's Rio-chan!" She pointed out the blonde Ogre girl that towered above the other six-year-olds, never mind her mother who was desperately clutching her daughter to her chest while sobbing her eyes out.

Nerida truly couldn't understand her beloved sister's case of nerves. School was a wonderful chance to experience the world outside their home and make new friends! Given her age and lack of mobility compared to her sisters, chances to leave the house outside of family trips were a rare treat. Now she got to leave and go to school everyday! Save for Sunday, of course, but that couldn't be helped.

"Ummm... Yes, but what if the unknowing masses cannot understand the dark majesty of my mystic heritage?" Morrigan questioned, staring up at him with hopeless yellow eyes.

"No-one's going to think you're weird," Kurusu assured her. "Look around, there's all sorts of kids here!" He gestured to the many families bringing their own young to school.

Yes, even though these children were among the first generation to be born and raised in a post-Extraspecies Exchange Act world, school systems and the like had adapted well. Looking up, the father and children could see a mother Harpy guide her daughters to the school entrance on the roof. Actually, didn't she work with Papi?

Lower on the ground, a mother and father duo with rabbit ears held their son's hands as he happily hopped between them.

A human man walked with his daughter's furry tail wrapped around his hand while she spoke animatedly.

And naturally, there were an abundance of human husbands with human wives and human children. Pft, normies.

Just outside the school gates, Rachnera and Miia Kurusu were having their own conversation. Rachnera carefully tapped the screen of her phone, letting the assistant manager of the cafe know that they'd be slightly late. "Hrnn..." She hummed worriedly to herself.

"You're such a softie, Rachnera!" Miia laughed, throwing an arm around her wife's shoulder.

"I don't know what you mean." Rachnera shrugged off Miia's arm and frowned. "I... I'm fine."

"Come ooooonn!" Miia teased, poking Rachnera in the stomach. "You were like this with Nii, too!"

"That was just because she's a Slime Girl, we weren't sure how people would react!"

"And what about when tried to stick Misa, Victoria, and Aoko to the roof so they couldn't leave?"

"They... Shut up!" Rachnera growled. It wasn't her fault they happened to wander into her webs and she just couldn't be bothered to get them down!

"It least you're not crying this time... "Don't take my babies from me again!"" Miia's rather unflattering impersonation was quickly cut off by Rachnera slowly sliding the tip of a claw against Miia's jawline.

"You want to keep reminiscing?" She grinned viciously.

Miia licked her lips and laughed nervously. "Oh, geez! What's taking them so long?"

It may have been a tad mean to mock Rachnera when Miia knew she was just as nervous. Even if she had already seen four of her daughters off on their first day of school, it never got less nerve wracking.

Would they be okay? Would they understand everything alright? Would they make friends? Goodness forbid, would they be bullied? Or possibly worse, would they be treated differently because of their parents? She knew that most children might actually be impressed that one of their classmates had so many parents, but adults... liked to talk. Especially about things they had no business in!

She wasn't all that surprised though. It made sense that people would call comment on her overwhelming love for her family. If you saw a glorious comet of love and happiness streaking through a bleak night sky of everyday life, wouldn't you say something about it?

"Let's go check!"

Before Miia could agree, Rachnera was already making her way towards their husband and children, weaving her way through the crowd like some kind of overly-protective octopus through water.

She slithered after her wife, finding that Darling was still failing to coax Morrigan into at least trying school for one day. He shot them a slightly exasperated look. "Hey, can you two take Nerida and Emilia to the classroom? I'd like to talk to Morrigan in private for a bit."

"Sure!" Miia smiled and grabbed the handles of Nerida's wheelchair.

"Come on, girls! Let's go meet your teacher!"

Rachnera paused and bit her lip as Morrigan looked up at her, desperately seeking salvation. "D-Don't take too long." She said, barely above a whisper, and fled through the door of the school. She had to leave before she could see the look of betrayal in those big yellow eyes...

Rachnera Kurusu, formerly Arachnera, had really become a hopeless sap, had she not?

She knew she was helpless against her daughters and unfortunately for her, they knew it too. She wasn't as bad as Mero, at least. Honey barely managed to talk her out of buying an actual castle when Aoko, Nerida, and Victoria were playing princesses.

Yes, Rachnera thought to herself with Emilia's clawed fingers gently held in her own, each and every one of the Kurusu mothers were utterly in love with their children.

They didn't let something as petty as who gave birth to who matter.

Just because Centorea didn't give birth to Aoko, it didn't mean she never held her to her chest and breastfed her.

Just because Lala didn't carry Emilia, it didn't mean that she wouldn't take care of her and gently kiss her face when she accidentally cut herself with her claws.

Just because Rachnera hadn't laid Misa's egg herself, it didn't mean that she hadn't comforted her daughter and assured her that everything would be okay when she first shedded her old skin only a couple months before.

Rachnera Kurusu had seven daughters. It was really that simple. She also had a husband and six wives.

Technically speaking, they were each other's wives, as well as Honey's. They were seven best friends and (when the moon was bright and the mood was right) occasionally lovers who shared a home, the same husband, and the same coc- Well, you see her point. Sharing something as amazing as motherhood was easier than you'd expect.

She looked back over her shoulder at the father and daughter and smiled... She would, as she always and forever would, have faith in him. She only hoped he wouldn't take too long to convince Morrigan. She knew he would, of course.

But still, sometimes it was hard to tell who was wrapped around who's finger the tightest, the daddy or his loving daughters.

Kurusu tapped his foot. Looks like he would really need to pull out the big guns for this one. He knelt to closer to Morrigan and gently placed a hand on the shoulder of the watery-eyed Dullahan girl. "Are they gone?" He whispered to her.

"W-What?" Morrigan blinked.

"Are they gone?" He repeated, cast his head in the direction of the school.

Morrigan leaned into him and looked over his shoulder.

"Um, yes?"

"Good." Kurusu stood to his full height and ran a hand through his hair, putting a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "It would have been difficult had they remained. Something like this... requires privacy." He chuckled.

"Honoured Patriarch?" Morrigan blinked again in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Kurusu seemingly ignored her in favour of stroking an invisible beard. "It seems the time has truly come then? Has it been that long since our family's power was last passed down?" He spoke as flamboyantly as he dared, keeping in mind of the other parents. He really didn't need to make a weird first impression.

Morrigan looked up at her father's face. "Our family's power?"

"Of course, I'm not surprised it's you, little Morrigan. You are..." Kurusu paused dramatically, placed two fingers against his forehead and then pointed at Morrigan. ""That" woman's daughter, after all!"

Morrigan gasped. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she was sure that it was serious! And exciting!

"Yes... The mystic blood of the island at the furthest reaches of the west and the island to the east... It could only be you, Morrigan." Kurusu nodded. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a wad of tissue paper. However unimportant it seemed, what was inside was truly one of his greatest treasures.

"Morrigan, this is something I feel I can trust you with." He said, carefully unfolding the paper to reveal a simple metal cross, pretty much just a lowercase "T" on a string loop.

Hell, how long had it been since he last saw this? It must have been years... Before the extraspecies people were revealed to the world at large, back when he was a dumb middle schooler with too much imagination and not sense to do anything with it other than create ridiculous fantasies with his buddies.

This cross... He remembered that his best friend in the world, Taro had given it to him. His family were Christians and moved away so Taro could attend a Catholic run highschool. He was sad to say that they had lost contact after that... In fact, he lost contact with a lot of his friends from way back when. But he had kept the cross as a reminder of his old friend. Being a Buddist (and not a great one, to be honest) it held little more than sentimental value. And now...

"A cross?" Morrigan peered into the tissue paper expectantly.

"Not a simple cross!" Kurusu disagreed. "This is the Legendary Cross of Bonds of the Kurusu clan! Created long before man and monster co-existed!"

Morrigan's eyes went wide. "But that's..." She paused, the true implications of her father's words hitting her young mind. "That's hundreds and hundreds and thousands of years ago!"

Kurusu nodded firmly. She was technically correct. The best kind of correct! "This was given to me by one I called "brother". It holds great power, power I'm giving to you."

Morrigan swallowed guiltily. The Honoured Patriarch was willing to give her such a precious gift? Even when she such a crybaby that couldn't even go to school like her big sisters?

Kurusu noted her uneasiness and switched back to his normal, calming voice. "I know you're scared, but I know you'll be okay." He took the cross, placed it around her neck and tucked it beneath her clothes. "You'll have your big sisters with you and as long you this... Then you'll have me and your moms there with you, too."

He took her hand and lowered his voice. "After all, the bonds of our clan are unbreakable..." God help him if Lala were here. She'd either be all over him or take his acting as a challenge.

Morrigan looked back at him with a new-found resolve and a growing self-confidence that even the most delusional Chuunibyou would secretly envy. "Kukuku!" She laughed, covering one eye with her palm. "Forgive me, Honoured Patriarch! I forgot myself! As the Scythe Princess of the Crimson Night, this petty school will not best me!"

"Hmph, as expected of my daughter! Are you ready?"

"Y-Yes! Just hold my hand, okay?"

He gripped her outstretched hand gently and the father and daughter walked towards the school doors together to join with the rest of their family. "For as long as you need me to."


	4. Kurusu's Words of Wisdom

Kimihito Kurusu, a young soul at the tender age of eleven, stared out upon an ancient forest from the porch of an old traditional house. The sun was setting behind distant mountains, the fireflies were preparing for their nighttime dance, and the smell of cooking meat was in the air.

Surely, anyone would think of this view as picturesque, the perfect subject for a landscape artist, the absolute classic example of the rural Yamaguchi Prefecture's natural beauty.

Kimihito was not impressed.

He would much rather be back home than stuck in an old creaking house at least twenty kilometres through twisting roads from the nearest collection of small shacks and a shop optimistically called a village.

Seriously, when was he going to be old enough that his parents would be able to trust him to be by himself when they left the country?! Why would they just leave him here with his grandparents?!

Two weeks! Two weeks he was stuck here in the boonies! And a least another week and a half to go before his parents arrived back into Japan. All the while his friends were enjoying their summers filled with new movies, cute girls (who would only be admired from a distance) and hours wasted at the arcade!

What was there to do here but stare out into the distance? He couldn't even go into the forest after his grandfather span him some old folklore about kitsune being on the hunt this time of year.

The only thing he could do was talk to his grandparents and god knows how long he could put with that, those boring, cru- "OWW!"

"Stop thinking like that, ya crappy brat." Toshiro Kurusu growled after delivering a sound slap to the back of his grandson's head.

"I wasn't thinking anything!"

"Eh, I'm not surprised! Yer head's still messed up from all that city smog." Grandpa Kurusu laughed, hypocritically taking a puff on his pipe.

Toshiro Kurusu was a fairly tall man, with limbs withered by age and a wispy beard that was trying to make up for a bald head. Despite his lack of hair or youth, he was a happy man, perfectly content with the road his choices had led him down. "Dinner'll be ready soon." He said, slowly taking a seat next to the son of his son. He sniffed, took another puff on his pipe and stared out onto the stunning vista before them. "Why do you have such a shitty look on yer face?"

Kimihito sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to get back to his annoyed musings. "Just... bored."

"Bored! Bored, he says! I suppose it would seem boring out here. Did fer me." Toshiro reluctantly nodded.

Kimihito raised an eyebrow. "For you? Haven't you always lived here, Grandpa?" From what his father had said before dropping him off, his father and grandparents had always lived in this traditional house, his father was twenty before he moved away for the big city where he met his mother.

The old man shook his head. "Life changes, Kimihito. When I was a lad, I lived in Kyoto. Born there, grew up there, planned to go to university there and stay there for the rest of my life. On a whim, I traveled for a bit, went hiking around these mountains," he gestured to the General area in front of them. "Met a pretty young thing and on a whim, decided to make her my wife, even if I had to stay in a backwater place like this."

"Grandma?"

"No. Turns out, this lovely young woman was already taken. But! It turned out she had an older sister who was a hell of a looker!" Toshiro stroked his beard. "Not like now! No, back then she had hair black as night, lovely long hair! Long enough to wrap yourself in, even!"

"Grandpa? What're you talking about?" Kimihito blinked in confusion. Was it normal to get this excited over the memory of hair? The same grey hair that his grandmother had?

"Idiot! What I'm saying is, life changes! For better and for worse! Summer turns to Autumn, Autumn turns to Winter, and the squirrel that doesn't prepare for it starves. Best thing you can do is go along with with life's changes and change it to suit you where you can. A man's strength is shown in how he adapts to his circumstances! A man can take whatever may come his way and make the best of it with a smile on his face!"

Kimihito smirked cruelly. "Aren't you just saying that because you kept making dumb decisions and threw your life away for some girl who wasn't even interested in you?"

"Ha! She couldn't cook to save her life! Far as I'm concerned, things turned out well for me, yer grandma's a real super chef. Yer just a kid anyway, you wouldn't understand this old man's wisdom... At the very least, remember this: Those that face change with a smile will always come out on top."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll keep it in mind." Kimihito muttered. Great, now he was he was hungry, bored, and exhausted from the pointless story.

"Good. Now help me up, I'm an old man. And wipe that shitty look off your face!"

DLWMD

As it turned out, Kimihito did take his grandfather's words to heart. Except for a very dark time during middle school and some of high school (which he would never admit to) he had managed to take the crappy look off his face, became a much more lax teenager who had an amicable smile and a willing to help disposition for everyone who know him.

In fact, it was probably his grandfather's words that helped him to deal with the strange circumstances that defined his life. Fairytale creatures were real? Sure, I guess. Probably won't affect his daily life too much.

So a snake woman was coming to live with him because of his absent parents and a lazy as hell/overworked co-ordinator? Naturally, he welcomed her into his home as would any good host and learned as much as he could about her so he could make her stay as comfortable as possible. It didn't hurt that she was hot...

Oh, a Harpy, a Centaur, a Slime, a Mermaid, an Arachne, and a Dullahan were moving in? Well, he'd have to make some adjustments to the budget, but sure! More the merrier!

He had to admit, he did have some trouble adjusting to the fact that they had feelings for him, but seeing that they were married with kids, it worked out well.

And speaking of kids and trouble adjusting...

What in the world was this?!

Peering out from the kitchen of the Kurusu Cafe, Head Chef Kimihito Kurusu's eye twitched in uncontrollable rage.

The Kurusu Cafe was a fairly large establishment, booths lined the walls, two walls had booths for larger extra-species and quadrupedal customers, another wall had smaller booths for humans and similarly sized extra-species. In the middle, there were tables for regular sized customers. But why was he describing the layout to himself? That wasn't important!

He could see his beautiful Victoria being seated by the new waitress, Mitsuru-san. Naturally, as the daughter of the owner, she was quickly seated in a booth for large-bodied customers that had chairs on the other side of the table. This was normal, Victoria would often stop in after school, either to lend a quick hand or stop for a meal with her club mates.

What was completely, utterly unnatural about this was Victoria's companion! Who was this kid?! This kid with the bored look on his face? Shitty kid, how dare you show that worthless expression to his precious child?

Wait, what was Victoria saying?

"Takano-kun, thank you for accompanying me today." Victoria said with a small smile.

What?! Victoria was only seventeen! She shouldn't be wasting time with non-family members! She should be busy with studying and club activities! She was the kyudo club captain, you know! Such a skilled girl, she got it from her mother...

"It's fine, Captain. It's not like I was doing anything else... by the way, where's the rest of the club?"

"Oh, they must be busy. Exams are coming up, you see."

Yes, that's right! So why are you here with this idiot!?

"You come here often then, Captain?" The boy, this Takano-kun person, asked as he perused the menu.

He was a plain looking kid, brown hair that looked like it never met a comb, bored, half clothes eyes stolen from a corpse, and a very sloppily worn uniform. Damn it, show so some decorum when dining with a lady!

"My family owns this restaurant, hence the name." Victoria didn't look at the menu. It was Monday, so that meant she'd be having the vegetarian kitsune udon, which was already cooking as soon as she walked in.

It payed to be the child of the owner, you know?

"Really, Captain?" Takano-kun raised an eyebrow. Ah, so you're capable of some expression then?

"Actually... Since we're outside of school and the club, it's fine if you refer to me by name." Victoria blu-

Victoria, no! Don't give the insect any reason to jump to some disgusting conclusion!

"Um, sir?" Koby-kun, one of the other chefs asked nervously. "Is there something wrong? I think some of the customers are getti-"

"SHHHH!" Kurusu hissed, waving away the Kobold. "Get back to work!"

Across the room, Takano-kun nodded. "If that's okay with you, Kurusu-senpai."

"No!" Victoria raised a hand quickly. "I mean that my parents work here and they're also Kurusu and if we meet them, it may cause some confusion! So... Calling me Victoria is fine too... if you want to..."

Gah! Papa can only take so much, Victoria-chan! It was a serious test of his iron willpower to restrain himself from rushing over, wrapping her in a hug and telling her how much she looked like her mother!

Takano-kun was also affected, but in a different way. "I-If you're sure... Victoria-senpai." The poor idiot stuttered. Know your place! Show respect to your senpai, first-year!

"I am." Victoria, his elegant, brave, strong willed Victoria smiled radiantly.

Urgk... He felt as if Victoria had pierced his heart with her bow and arrow.

"Father! Will I be as strong as you and mother one day?"

"Father, can you read this story to us?"

"Father, when I grow up, I'm going to marry you!"

"Father, thank you for raising me, but I must leave now to be by my husband's side..."

"Goodbye, Father..."

Kurusu staggered from the doorway, clutching at his chest. He lurched forward and grabbed a terrified Koby-kun by the shoulders.

"Sir!?" The poor employee yelped.

"Koby-kun..." He groaned. "Tell Miia and Rachnera that I'm not feeling well today... I'm going to bed early today."

"Yes, sir!" He said, watching his stricken employer move like a Romero movie zombie. Poor guy, he thought, he looked like he had seen a ghost...

Wait, was that politically correct?

DLWMD

Kurusu released an anguished cry as he fell through his front door of his large home.

Aoko and Morrigan sprang from the living room and rushed to the hallway to find their father face down with his shoes still on.

"Daddy?!"

"Honoured Patriarch?!"

They both recoiled in horror at the sight.

"Girls!" He shouted as he raised his head from his faceplant. "My precious angels!" He caught them in a crushing hug. "You'll stay with me forever, right? My little girls!"

"H-Hey! I'm still growing!" Aoko protested, struggling to free herself and her sister. She was a Harpy, cut her some slack, damn it!

"Are you possessed?! Should I inform Mother?" Morrigan questioned, her phone already in hand. "My scythe's in my room! I'll free you myself if I have to!"

Let's relax for a second there, Magical Girl Morrigan!

"No... Daddy's just really, really sad, sweetheart!"

An hour later, after an unsuccessful consoling from Aoko, Morrigan, and Suu, who should walk in but a rather perky Victoria, happily humming to herself.

Well, that changed as soon as she lay eyes on the feeble form of her normally strong and calm Father. "F-Father!? What's wrong!? What's happened!?"

"We were hoping you could tell us." Morrigan replied in his stead.

"Hmm? I'm not sure what you mean? I was at the restaurant, but I'm afraid I didn't see Father." Victoria glanced to the side and blushed. "I suppose I wasn't really paying attention..."

Another low pained whine...

"Father, are you alright?" Victoria knelt down to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Kurusu smiled weakly and covered her hand with his. "Victoria, my precious daughter... Forgive this selfish old man for disturbing your happiness."

"Father, you're only thirty-eight..."

"No, no... You're a woman, children grow up. I can't expect to be the only man in your life."

"Daddy, are you DYING!?" Aoko shrieked. Oh no! Oh no! Nonono! Mama Lala could do something right?!

"No, Aoko, no... just my soul... Victoria, give Takano-kun my regards. If he's the man you've chosen, (even though you can do much better than a dead-eyed idiot)."

"T-Takano-kun?" She yelped. "No, no! See, it's just that, that... Takano-kun is just a new club member! In fact! We, the rest of the club, were supposed to welcome Takano-kun to the club with a meal, but everyone just happened to not show up! A complete coincidence!" She giggled nervously under the unimpressed gazes of her younger sisters.

"Wait, is this Takano-kun the boy we saw last week with the ca-" Morrigan tried to ask, but was swiftly cut off her Victoria's hand.

"He's no-one! A complete non-entity! You don't even know him!" Victoria protested.

Kurusu shakily stood up on unsteady legs. Truly, this was her mother's daughter. "Victoria. What is your relationship with this Takano-kun person?"

"W-Well, he's really just a new club member. We met some time ago and I invited him to join the kyudo club. I'm not sure if we could even be called friends? He always seems rather bored, in fact... But! I know that he can be better than he is! I want... I want Takano-kun to be the person I believe he can be." She spoke, her words gaining more conviction as she went on. "And even if he made my heart skip a beat, it was only one time! A complete fluke!"

Kurusu released a deep, suffering sigh and hugged his third born child. "Well, that's fine." He smiled widely.

Life changes, Kimihito. A man can take whatever may come his way and make the best of it with a smile on his face! Now wipe that shitty look off your face!

"You're a good girl, Victoria. I'll trust your judgment." Yeah, he raised some good kids, kids that would keep growing up, kids that would have their own kids.

Ugh, did that mean he'd have disrespectful brats to deal with too?

At least that was years away... Oh, good, he was sad again.

"I'm going to go lie down, girls."

"Yes... Get some rest, Father."

DLWMD

"Sooooo... Who's Takano-kun~?" Aoko giggled.

"Nee-san! Even if our family owns the restaurant, it's no excuse for lewdness! People eat there!" Morrigan hissed.

"What lewdness?!"

"Obviously, you were doing something to upset the Honoured Patriarch! First, Emilia-neesan's filthy publications and now lewdness in a public place... A curse is upon this family!"

"Noooo! It was just a meal!"

Even as she tried to snatch Morrigan's phone from her hand to prevent her from spreading rumours of her supposed perverse habits to her sisters and mothers, a few choice thoughts ran through her mind.

'D-Did we really look like a couple? And does this mean Father approves?!'

Grandfather, please smile on your poor grandson from heaven.


End file.
